Anti-colic nursing bottle construction



June 23, 1964 R. R. BUTTS 3,138,273

ANTI-COLIC NURSING BOTTLE CONSTRUCTION Filed NOV. 8. 1961 INVENTOR. RICHARD R. BUTTS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,138,278 ANTI-COLIC NURSING BOTITE CQNSTRUCTION Richard R. Butts, 1679 Midland Road, Bay City, Mich. Filed Nov. 8, 1961, Ser. No. 1%,?53 Claims. (Cl. 21511) This invention relates to an anti-colic nursing bottle construction and more particularly to a disposable nursing bottle which can be filled with liquid, sealed under hygienic conditions, stored until such time as the contents are consumed, and provided with means to prevent an infants sucking air when the contents of the bottle are drained, the bottle being formed of such inexpensive material as to permit it to be thrown away or discarded after it is emptied.

An object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle which is constructed of such inexpensive material as to permit the bottle to be discarded after its contents are drained and yet which is of suflicient rigidity to permit it to be self-supporting and to prevent collapsing or rupturing of ,the walls of the bottle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a disposable nursing bottle construction in which beverages may be placed under completely sanitary conditions and which may be stored for an indefinite period of time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nursing bottle that may be completely sealed prior to its use and which quickly and easily can be pierced to permit its contents to be removed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved valve construction for nursing bottles which permits air to enter the bottle when, and in the amounts, necessary to assure proper fiow of the bottles contents.

A further object of the invention is to provide internal valve means for effecting a positive seal of the nipple end of the bottle when the contents are drained, thereby preventing an infants sucking air.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out specifically or will become apparent from the following description when it is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a nursing bottle formed in accordance with the invention and in condition for storage prior to use;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of one embodiment of a nursing bottle ready for use; I

FIGURE 3 is a plan View of the inside surface of the base of the bottle shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, but illustrating a modified form of the invention.

A bottle formed in accordance with the invention comprises a hollow body 1 having side walls 2 and end walls 3 which terminate at one end of the body in an integral nipple 4. At its other end, the side and end walls terminate in outwardly flared end portions 5 and 6, respectively. The body member 1 preferably is an integral structure formed of flexible material such as polypropylene, polyethylene or other suitable synthetic material capable of withstanding the heat of sterilization, and it may be manufactured by either vacuum or injection molding proc: esses or in any other suitable manner.

The apparatus includes a combined base member and valve structure which, in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, comprises a base member 7 having an end wall 8 of a size corresponding substantially to the cross-sectional size of the base end of the body 1. Extending completely around the wall 8 is an integral flange 9 that is flared to correspond to the flaring 3,138,278 Patented June 23, 1964 ice of the flanges 5 and 6 and which is adapted to be received within the flanges 5 and 6 in face-to-face engagement therewith. The base member 7 preferably is formed of the same material as the body member 1 and it may be fixed to the latter by heat welding or fusion of the flanges 5, 6 and 9.

At substantially the center of the base membenthe wall 8 may be deformed outwardly so as to provide an outwardly convex depression 10 of substantially conical shape. Received in the depression 10 is a ball valve element 11 having a stem 12 rigidly secured thereto. Overlying the ball 11 is a mounting device or spider 13 having a plurality of arms 14 intersecting at corresponding ends to form a centrally located web 15 that is apertured so as slideably to receive the valve stem 12. The free ends of the arms 14 may be permanently secured to the inner surface of the base wall 8 by heat welding, fusion, or any other suitable process. Surrounding the valve stem 12 is a coil spring 16 which reacts between the web 15 and the ball 11 to urge the latter snugly into engagement with the walls of the conical depression 10. The parts 11-16 preferably are formed of a plastic material such as polyethylene, although other materials may be used.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 5, the base member 7 is the same as has been described earlier. The difference between the two embodiments is in the valve structure. In the apparatus shown in FIG- URE 5, a ball element 17 may be molded at one end of a flexible polyethylene strap 18 which may be welded or fused at its other end to the inner surface of the base Wall 8. The strap 18 yieldably holds the ball 17 in engagement with the wall of the conical depression 10 In the manufacture of the nursing bottle of either embodiment, the body member 1 is formed as a separate unit and the combined valve and base unit is formed as a separate unit. The empty bodies may be conveyed by suitable machinery through a sterilizing machine and then to a filling machine where the inverted bodies may be filled with a beverage such as a milk formula, fruit juice, Water, or the like. A sterilized base structure then may be fitted within the open base end of a body and be welded or fused thereto. When a body and a base are assembled, the contents of the bottle will be completely sealed in an impervious container. Alternatively, the bottle body may be filled with a liquid and the base secured to the body, following which the entire assembly may be sterilized.

Following the sterilization process, the bottle may be protected against contamination by being wrapped with a cover or shield 19 formed of a thin sheet of flexible material such as has previously been described. The edges of the shield may be heat sealed or otherwise secured to one another so as to protect the entire bottle structure. Filled bottles then may be packed for shipment and storage.

To condition a bottle for use, the shield or hood member 19 may be torn off the bottle and the end of the nipple pierced to provide an opening 20 (see FIGURE 2) through which the contents of the bottle may be withdrawn. If desired, a pin (not shown) may be packaged with each bottle, inside the shield 19, so as to provide a sterilized device for piercing the bottle. It is preferred that the nipple 4 be slightly dimpled on its exterior surface so as to facilitate its being pierced, the dimple being formed in the molding process. The conical projection 10 on the base wall also should be provided with a dimple which can be pierced to form an opening 21 through which air may enter the body as its contents are withdrawn.

The opening 21 in the base of the bottle will be sealed by the appropriate valve element 11 or 17 until the withdrawal of the fluid through the nipple causes a reduction in pressure within the bottle to permit atmospheric pressure to displace the valve element against the bias of the spring 16 or 18, thereby assuring a smooth flow of fluid through the nipple. The wall thickness of the body should be such as to prevent collapsing of the body during removal of its contents. Stated differently, the capacity of the springs 16 or 18 should be such as to assure opening of the associated valve prior to collapsing of the body walls. If it is desired to make use of thinner walls, they may be longitudinally fluted or ribbed to rigidify them. When the pressures inside and outside the bottle are equalized, the spring 16 or 18 will effect resealing of the opening 21.

As is indicated in the drawings, the depressions 19 do not extend beyond the flange 9 of the base. Accordingly, the bottle may be stood upright on its base.

When the bottle is empty it may be thrown away, inasmuch as the materials from which the bottle is made are extremely inexpensive.

It is commonly thought that one contributing factor to an infants contracting colic is the sucking of air by the infant during and after feeding. Most nursing bottle constructions provide some means other than the nipple opening through which air may enter the bottle, and such means will allow air to enter the bottle long after its liquid contents have been drained. Unless care is taken to remove the nipple from the infants mouth after the liquid is consumed, it is possible for the infant to continue to nurse and swallow large amounts of air. A hottle constructed in accordance with the invention includes means for sealing the nipple end of the bottle when its contents have been drained. The sealing means comprises a stopper or ball 22 of preferably spherical shape and which has sufficient bouyancy to float in water. The requisite bouyancy can be provided by forming the ball 22 from a hollow sphere of polypropylene, polyethylene or other suitable plastic material. The sphere 22 may be inserted in the bottle prior to the time the bottom 7 is secured in place.

FIGURE 2 discloses the sphere 22 floating in the contents of the container with the container in an upright position. Following the piercing of the opposite ends of the container to permit draining of its contents the bottle may be inverted or partially inverted to allow the infant to withdraw the contents through the nipple. The sealing ball 22 will float in the contents and gradually move towards the nipple end of the bottle as the contents are drained.

When the bottle is empty, or nearly empty, the ball 22 will be at the nipple end of the body. The diameter of the ball is such that it engages the conical side walls 4a of the bottle at the neck end of the latter, as is in dicated by dash lines in FIGURE 2, and seals the interior of the bottle so that no air may be withdrawn from the bottle through the nipple opening.

It is important that the ball be secured in sealing engagement with the neck walls of the container so that it is not likely to become dislodged by the childs biting on the nipple or suddenly releasing the latter. The ball may be securely retained in sealing relation by causing the neck walls of the container to converge toward the nipple end along lines that will form a self-holding taper for the peripheral surface of the ball 22. A self-holding taper is one that prevents relative sliding movement be tween two parts without the application of an external force to one of them and where the two members are formed of the same material, the maximum degree of taper that can be utilized is the angle whose tangent equals the coefiicient of friction of the material. The particular taper given to the neck walls 4a, therefore, will vary according to the materials used in the construction of the container. In the manufacture the nursing bottle it is preferred that the neck walls be tapered slightly less than the maximum tolerable taper to guard against inadvertent slipping of the sealing ball. Thus,

"2 if the maximum tolerable degree of taper is three and one-half degrees, the walls may be tapered at three degrees so as to form an included angle of six, rather than seven degrees.

The disclosed embodiment is representative of a presently preferred form of the invention but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A nursing bottle construction comprising a body member having walls defining a chamber, said walls tapering toward one end of said body member to form a neck portion; means at said one end of said body member forming a nipple; check valve means remote from said one end of said body member and located within the latter adjacent a wall of said body; yieldable means resiliently urging said check valve means into engagement with said wall, said nipple being pierced to permit the contents of said body member to be with drawn and said body being pierced adjacent said valve means to permit air to enter said body member under the control of said valve means as the contents of said body member are withdrawn; and bouyant sealing means within said chamber and having a size greater than the smallest part of said neck portion so as to seat against said tapering walls when the contents are Withdrawn to seal said nipple from said chamber.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 wherein said walls taper at an angle such that they form a self-hold ing taper for said sealing means.

3. A nursing bottle construction comprising a body having walls defining a hollow chamber, said walls converging toward one end of said body at such an angle as to form a neck portion having a self-holding taper; and bouyant sealing means loosely received in said cham her and being of a size and shape as to be received between the tapering walls of said neck portion in engagement therewith.

4. A nursing bottle construction for containing a liquid, said construction comprising a body member having walls defining a hollow chamber, said walls tapering toward one end of said body member to form a neck portion through which liquid in such chamber may flow; one of the walls of said body being adapted to permit the passage of air into said chamber; valve means supported by said body for controlling the passage of air into said body; and bouyant sealing means loosely received Within said chamber and having a size greater than the smallest part of said neck portion so as to enable said sealing means to seat against said tapering walls and seal said neck portion when the liquid has been drained from said chamber through said neck portion, said walls having a maximum taper no greater than the angle having its tangent equal to the coefiicient of friction of the material from which said walls are made.

5. The construction set forth in claim 4 wherein said sealing means comprises a hollow member formed of the same material from which said walls are made.

6. The construction set forth in claim 5 wherein said hollow member is spherical.

7. A nursing bottle construction for containing a liquid, said construction comprising a body having walls defining a hollow chamber, said walls tapering toward one end of said body to form a neck portion of said body; nipple means attached to said neck portion end of said body and through which liquid in said chamber may flow; one of the walls of said body being adapted to permit the passage of air into said chamber; valve means supported by said body for controlling the passage of air into said body; and bouyant sealing means loosely received within said chamber and having a size greater than the smallest part of said neck portion to enable said sealing means to rest against said tapering walls and effect a seal between said chamber and said nipple means when the liquid has been drained from said chamber through said neck portion, said walls having a maximum taper no greater than the angle having its tangent equal to the coefficient of friction of the material from which said walls are made.

8. The construction set forth in claim 7 wherein said 5 sealing means has a cross-sectional shape corresponding substantially to the cross-sectional shape of said neck portion.

9. The contruction set forth in claim 7 wherein said neck portion is substantially conical.

10. The construction set forth in claim 9 wherein said sealing means is spherical.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hamilton Ian. 5, 1864 Hamilton Apr. 5, 1864 Roorbach Aug. 4, 1885 Stewart Apr. 6, 1886 Jensen Jan. 19, 1892 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain 1914 Great Britain Feb. 21, 1951 

1. A NURSING BOTTLE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A BODY MEMBER HAVING WALLS DEFINING A CHAMBER, SAID WALLS TAPERING TOWARD ONE END OF SAID BODY MEMBER TO FORM A NECK PORTION; MEANS AT SAID ONE END OF SAID BODY MEMBER FORMING A NIPPLE; CHECK VALVE MEANS REMOTE FROM SAID ONE END OF SAID BODY MEMBER AND LOCATED WITHIN THE LATTER ADJACENT A WALL OF SAID BODY; YIELDABLE MEANS RESILIENTLY URGING SAID CHECK VALVE MEANS INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID WALL, SAID NIPPLE BEING PIERCED TO PERMIT THE CONTENTS OF SAID BODY MEMBER TO BE WITHDRAWN AND SAID BODY BEING PIERCED ADJACENT SAID VALVE MEANS TO PERMIT AIR TO ENTER SAID BODY MEMBER UNDER 